So I was eager to get home all day today, not just because it was the first day back from school, but because I was positive that after the post office was closed for 3 days, my orders had to have arrived by now. When I got home, the mail hadn't arrived yet, so I waited on pins and needles until the mailman finally arrived. He came bearing only one package, which turned out to be the Skies of Arcadia game I had ordered. I was disappointed that it all hadn't come, but I figured that it was better than nothing.

A while later, I decided to take another peek outside to see if maybe something had been too big to deliever on the first trip, and low and behold, a large box greeted me! Inside was the completion of my entire Christmas order. The first thing I broke out were the computer speakers, which are now nicely positioned on the top of my desk to create a nice surround sound effect. Then I looked at the rest of the games I'd ordered. Unfortunately, I had to eat dinner first, but afterwards I started playing and manged to start off three of the games. Note that there may be slight beginning game spoilers for some of these.

The first I tried was Tales of the Abyss. In a comparison of the three tales games I've tried so far, Symphonia, Legendia, and now this, I find the style to be much more closley related to Symphonia, which I like because I found Symphonia to be a more enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Legendia was good, but it wasn't as open ended, and Abyss seems to be moving towards an open experience. I have to say that Luke right now is an absolute brat, whose attitude I'm despising. I can understand that he's not very social from being locked away in a mansion for 7 years, but his parents could've at least taught him to respect others. I guess it comes with the whole aristocrat attitude. I'm hoping he grows a lot during the course of this, because he's like a 5 year old in an 18 year old's body right now. Side note, I like Tear already, something about her is just so awesome in general. I'm only up to the first town right now, so this is going to take a loooong time.

The second game I tried out was Okami. Oh my good god, I am in love with the art in this game. It's absolutely stunning graphically, as someone at Gamespot said, it's like you're playing on living watercolors. I've only just begun to explore the brush system, and I'm already liking it. It's a fun concept that I've never seen done before, though I can't help but feel it could be executed better on the Wii, but of course, most point and paint things are easier on the Wii than on other consoles. I'm about to leave the village after getting the swordsman to slice the boulder, and I can't wait to see wha awaits.

The final one I took a look at was Phoenix Wright. I played through the first court case to get the feel, and I have to say, it's quite fun. The first case wasn't all that hard, but it got me in the crime solving mood, and the court system is well executed and doesn't leave you hanging. You could come back months later and be able to pick up where you left off with relative ease because of the court records and cross-examination system. The characters are also quite endearing, I love Mia already, and for some freaky reason she reminds me of Cuddy from House MD, though Phoenix is definitely no Greg House =D.

That's the lineup so far! Next on the list is to try out Jak and Daxter, and Skies of Arcadia. Then I'll probably be back on trying to complete Twilight Princess, and onces that's done, I'll be set for gaming for the next few months. Today was my Christmas, and it was a great Christmas indeed.

~Nighthawk~